Patriots Hire Dom Capers

Site Staff

02/21/2008

The New England Patriots made some moves with the coaching staff Thursday. Dom Capers joined the staff while former receivers coach Nick Caserio was moved to the scouting department, Bill O'Brien moves to a new position and secondary coach Joel Collier was not retained.

The moves come in the wake of some defensive struggles the team had in the
2007 playoffs. The addition of Capers -- a former defensive coordinator and
two-time head coach -- bolsters the Patriots coaching staff significantly.

The official moves are:
Capers: Special assistant /secondary coach -- a new hire.
Caserio: Director of Player Personnel -- moved from receivers coach
O'Brien: Wide Receivers coach -- moved from coaching assistant
Collier: former secondary coach -- released

Here are some comments released by the team on the moves.

Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick on Dom Capers:

I have known Dom for a long time and respect him tremendously as a coach,
particularly defensively. To add a coach of his caliber is an outstanding opportunity
for us. I look forward to getting to work with Dom and Dean [Pees] immediately.

Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick on Bill OBrien:

In his first year, Bill made a very positive impact on our offensive
staff. We are excited about him building on his experience in the system as
he moves into his new role.

Vice President of Player Personnel Scott Pioli on Nick Caserio:

Nick has exemplified versatility and loyalty to this organization. We
are happy to welcome him back to the personnel department where we will benefit
from his great understanding of our program.